Since the last match, a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Saudi Arabia, Iranian football has been in chaos.
Ali Daei was fired the following day and replacement Mohammad Mayeli Kohan lasted just two weeks before resigning. The latest occupant of the hotseat is Afshin Ghotbi.
With Iran having collected just six points from five games, there can be no more slip-ups, and Kia has called for calm.
"After Mayeli Kohan's dismissal, I was really concerned that we may go through another long process of coach selection. However, fortunately, the new coach was chosen rapidly,” the Eintracht Frankfurt star told Mehr News Agency.
“This could increase our success rate in the upcoming three matches."
The 31-year-old, who went to the 1998 World Cup, believes that Ghotbi’s experience as an assistant coach with South Korea will help with two of the three remaining matches taking place on the eastern peninsula.
He said, "Ghotbi's knowledge about Koreans is certainly one of the main reason's for his appointment. In case a foreign coach was assigned, there would have been very limited time to familiarise himself with Iranian football, and therefore [he would have been] unlikely to succeed.
"While we can't neglect the presence of the young ambitious players in the squad, we also require experienced players in Pyongyang who can make the difference in decisive moments of the match.
"Ali Karimi could be an influential player and will definitely help us in the following three crucial matches, if he doesn't get injured. He is one of Iran's greatest football players and has always performed well for the national team."